David Delgado/ The Daily Cougar

There are many moral aspects that shape a person’s views on the death penalty ranging from religious views to views of the Constitution. While these can be argued until everyone is blue in the face, nearly everyone can agree that when it comes to money nobody wants to waste a penny.

This is, undoubtedly, the most concrete reason Arias should not be sentenced to the death penalty. Enough money has already been wasted on the trial.

The Huffington Post estimates that, by the time the next round of the penalty phase is (hopefully) finished, Maricopa County taxpayers will have spent $1 million on Arias’ lawyer fees. The trial has seen such expenses as $250 an hour for research and $300 an hour for testimony from expert witnesses. Because Arias is represented by public defenders this number will only rise if she is sentenced to the death penalty and the public can be sure to see round after round of appeals, all while the taxpayers of Maricopa foot the bill.

Throughout the years of waiting for an execution date, inmates tend to see an annual invoice nearly double as they must be housed on death row, go through countless appeals, and basic prison costs, which is also on the taxpayers’ shoulders.

Talking about this on paper seems relatively simple, but no one truly knows how the jury will decide even if the 24-hour media coverage continues to speculate the different scenarios every day.

“I would say that when trials turn into media circuses, they can really go either way,” said UH Law Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson.

“There was outrage over the verdict.  But the point is that during the jury’s deliberations, they probably didn’t know the public’s opinion, or, if they did, they ignored it,” Thompson said.

A new jury will be chosen and if the new panel finds themselves gridlocked, as the previous sentencing jury did, the death penalty will be removed as an option and the judge will give an executive decision to be chosen from life with the possibility of parole or life without parole.

While the way in which Arias brutally murdered her former boyfriend is reprehensible, so is the amount of taxpayers’ money that has already been spent on the trial. Moral aspects of the death penalty aside, the public likely doesn’t want to continue giving funds year after year as the case goes through with multiple rounds of appeals to try to sway the court to get Arias off death row.

 Caroline Giese is a public relations senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

During the past few weeks the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has been interrogating front-line and top-desk employees from the IRS office in Cincinnati about an alleged tactic to eliminate conservative organizations by denying them tax-exempt status.

During the investigation, several conservative groups gave testimonies of IRS agents badgering them with obscene questioning, holding their applications unjustifiably and implementing other strategies to either slow down the process or make it more tedious than necessary.

Although the situation escalated into a scandal in May, an email mistakenly sent to the Exempt Organizations Rulings and Agreements unit by Cincinnati IRS employee Elizabeth Hofacre suggests that Washington, D.C. had been aware of the mistreatment of these groups since 2010.

In the message intended to be read only by IRS attorney Carter Hull, the agent claimed that her supervisors had instructed her and other employees to flag organizations identified on a list that was blatantly discriminative toward conservative groups.

The investigation is being overseen by a panel comprising members from both parties and the committee’s chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

Despite a lack of proof, Issa insists that the mistreatment is an intentional scheme plotted by the Obama administration to debunk conservative ideology and hurt the Republican Party.

Investigative committee member Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the poster child for congressional Democrats, has openly opposed Issa.

In an interview with ABC news, Cummings demanded that Issa come forward with interview transcripts that prove that the White House is not connected to the scandal.

The spar between Issa and Cumming has compromised the objectivity of the committee. So far it has proven to be more concerned with pinning the blame and characterizing victims as either Democrats or Republicans versus appropriately identifying the problem.

Every day there are new witnesses and evidence coming forth between the hearing, and other panel members need to be able to focus on the information being presented in order to decipher the truth.

The situation is not isolated to the Cincinnati office. According to NBC news, IRS employees in other cities were also sent this list. There may be bigger problems happening with the IRS that are reflective of non-partisan issues within the bureaucratic system.

In 2010, the nonprofit organization, Citizens United, wanted to use its funds to promote a negative documentary film about Hillary Clinton through cable airing and theatrical releases. In the groundbreaking case, Citizens United v. the Federal Elections Committee, the court ruled in favor of the nonprofit and gave corporations rights under freedom of speech that were previously reserved for individuals.

“This ruling allowed people and corporations to make unlimited contributions to the kinds of organizations at the center of the current scandal,” said political science professor Bryan Cole.

“Organizations that are primarily geared toward social welfare can receive tax exempt status. These organizations may sometimes engage in political activities, but if their main purpose is political, then they are not eligible,” Cole said.

In many cases, these corporations and groups are not required to give a list identifying their donors.

In a sense, the IRS has a moral obligation to fulfill its role in protecting our democratic system from being overwhelmed by corporate interest. This is done by discouraging organizations that are merely tools in fundraising for politicians and lobbyists.

“Many, many new groups sprang up following the ruling,” Cole said. “Thus, a more benign explanation would be that the IRS was overworked and exercised poor judgment in terms of taking shortcuts.”

On the other hand, if the accusations being investigated are true and officials were purposely targeting conservative groups, then it would mean that these organizations were being denied their rights under federal law.

It is easier to accept that the IRS is up to something down and dirty. Although the money collected by this department of the government is used for funding Pell Grants and building better schools and neighborhoods, most Americans don’t have positive views of the IRS.

However, we can’t allow fears of tax season and missing the seemingly rigorous deadlines imposed by the IRS to distract us from the situation at hand. The scary, larger-than-life image of “the government” needs to be downsized so that the situation can be appropriately addressed.

One of our country’s most hated government entities is stuck playing the role of the big bad wolf, while a sensationalistic media entertains us with a frivolous partisan debate, and the public takes its opportunity to hit the IRS under the belt.

If we don’t put a stop to this witch hunt, we will never get down to fixing the real problems in the system.

Ciara Rouege is an advertising junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Since then, the inner workings of UH’s administration has been nipped and tucked, and the transformation is not finished yet.

The changes come after a long process of consideration. In August 2012, the University began a relationship with Pappas Consulting Firm in order to decide what needs to change and — more importantly — how. As of May 20, the firm was paid more than $211,300 that was funded from private contributions, said Provost Paula Short.

As a staff, we agree on the mantra “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Except something seems to be broken at UH. The six-year graduation rate at UH is lower than the average. According to UH Institutional research, the six-year graduation rate of first-time, full-time students was 46 percent in 2012, while the nation averaged 58 percent in 2011, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. This data excludes transfer and part-time students.

There is something amiss and Khator is trying to find out what that is and fix it. We believe that rearranging the University at its core is a valid option for improvement at this time.

One thing we would like the administration to remember when making changes to the system is who UH represents.

As Hugh Roy Cullen, who gave about $70 million total to the University, said, “I have only one condition in making this gift. The University of Houston must always be a college for working men and women and their sons and daughters.”

Despite graduation rates and how UH looks on paper, the administration needs to keep that as an integral part of its decision-making process.

Universities in the Bowl Championship Series saw dramatic salary increases for their athletics faculty — dramatic being a kind understatement. Inside Higher Ed reported football coaches saw an approximate 97 percent increase in their salaries, and athletic coach salaries rose by about 78 percent, while academic faculty saw their salaries rise by only 15.8 percent.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

Once percentages have been swapped out for actual numbers, the gap becomes even more apparent. Inside Higher Ed reports also show that in 2006, instructors at Southeastern Conference universities, such as Texas A&M, were paid $70,886 annually. This figure rose by 15.5 percent to $81,758 by 2011. In that same time frame, the coaching staff started out with a salary of more than $3 million and ended in 2011 at $6.9 million.

That is the salary that coaches at A&M can expect now. According to the Texas Tribune, former UH coach Kevin Sumlin traded in his red and white for Aggie maroon and a $2 million salary. After an 11-2 season, coaching a Heisman Trophy winner and a Cotton Bowl victory he was given a raise to $3.1 million. His former boss, Texas A&M Athletic Director Clarence “Bill” Byrne made $690,000, according to the Texas Tribune. Both of them are making much more than the provost of their university, Karan Watson, who makes $360,000. Combined, however, these heavy earners at TAMU are like peasants to Mack Brown, the head coach at the University of Texas, whose salary is a whopping $5.2 million. 

Student athletics builds an identity, builds the student community and builds brand notoriety for its university. Brand notoriety attracts more students, and more students means more funding. More funding means more money for the university to spend on everything overall, including more housing, better facilities and even improved professor salaries.

This doesn’t excuse the fact that a coach can be a millionaire while professors are making pennies in comparison. It says something about how we as a society have come to value sports as opposed to education. It is a sad reality when UH is hidden in obscurity because its sports program is not as stellar or as famed as UT or A&M’s, and that, despite several previous academic accomplishments, only after a superb athletic football season did UH begin to get greater widespread recognition.

Still, the University cannot afford to miss out on the potential revenue that can be found in merchandising rights, tickets and a surge of new students looking to come to the next big sports university. When asked about the University’s stance on this growing trend, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor Richard Bonnin replied that, “The University of Houston’s designation as a Tier One institution brings with it an obligation to be nationally competitive in everything we do” — and that includes athletics.

UH is, at the very least, very well-rounded when it comes to staff salaries. Mack Rhoades, the Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics at UH, is making $350,000, while the dean of the college of engineering, Joseph Tedesco, makes $308,000. The gap isn’t nearly as wide at UH as it is at other universities, and it serves to show that while UH recognizes that athletics are important, academics is the core of every university and is no less true here.

The athletics department also recognizes the importance of academic success, which is perhaps why Bonnin said, “UH student-athletes this spring recorded the highest cumulative GPA after a spring term in the history of the department.”

That the University has maintained such a well-rounded grasp of student athletics and academics will be a milestone for us as various parts of our athletics infrastructure comes under renovation. With each renovation comes big price tags that have many questioning the worth of it all, but it would be foolish to neglect a large source of nationwide fame and income just to take a moral high ground.

James Wang is a history major and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

On Saturday, the University joined 711 colleges and universities around the country when it banned all tobacco products and became a tobacco-free campus, except for 20 one-year designated smoking areas.

A tobacco-free policy was first introduced in 2001. Four revisions and approximately 10 years later, it was approved by a new condition from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, requiring any school receiving funds from the Institute to disallow tobacco products on its campus.

According to a UH press release, the initiative is part of UH’s commitment to providing a healthy and sustainable environment for everyone in the UH community.

Some such as Jim, author of “University of Houston to Ban Tobacco” an article found on smokersutopia.com, rebuffs Tolley’s comment saying that the real reason behind the policy is the approximately $9.4 million that the CPRIT grants the University. Regardless of reason, the true problem is not that there is a policy, it is the University’s weak implementation of it.

“This policy will be achieved primarily through education, awareness and cooperation,” according to the press release. Once enacted, “UH community members are allowed to respectfully inform a person using a tobacco product about the ban and request that (they) comply,” unless in a smoking area.

Those who disrespect the policy can be reported to the UH Tobacco Task Force website. These individuals will then receive an email reminding them of the policy.

The policy can be termed more of a suggestion than a rule. Having students self-police others without actual repercussions is as useless as telling a child to behave without ensuring punishment. If there is no fine for violating the policy, there is little incentive to respect it.

Even faultier is the email report. Random strangers do not carry a name tag on their shirt. Hence, if a stranger is smoking in a non-smoking area, there is no way to report them unless you ask for their name, and they actually give it to you. This only gets faultier with non-students who would not receive an email even if they gave their name.

The University of Texas, which has a similar policy to UH, is in its second year of a tobacco ban and removed the smoking areas this year. UT sophomore Muhammad Merli-Ahmad said that although students employ their watch-dog role, smoking still happens on campus.

“People still seem to be able to smoke at the old smoking areas,” Merli-Ahmad said. “(The policy) limited the area of smoking, but who knows, maybe one day if they see they aren’t getting punished or fined, they will smoke more freely on campus.”

Prior to the tobacco-free policy, there was a 15-feet smoking ban from buildings and yet smokers still crowded the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library steps daily. Compliance with this policy is doubtful and although the University policy fulfills the CPRIT’s requirements, it lacks the strengths to make a real change. Without a more severe punishment for its violators, preferably in the form of a monetary fine, there is little incentive to comply.

Mónica Rojas is a print journalism sophomore may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com

 

Jeff Bliss is something like a martyr. After being asked to leave his high school classroom in early May, the Duncanville student informed his teacher, “you can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is tell ‘em.”

“You want kids to come into your class,” he said. “You want them to get excited for this? You gotta come in here — you gotta make them excited. You gotta touch his freaking heart.”

Bliss is blonde, with long hair. He is wearing a blue shirt and red Nike high tops.

His instructions were noted, but Bliss couldn’t have known they were being recorded by a classmate in the front row. He couldn’t have known that his classmate would have the fortitude to upload the recording to YouTube. And he couldn’t have known that, less than a week later, he’d find himself reiterating his elegy for ABC.

That telecast found over 4,000,000 hits on YouTube. He has since been spotted on The Examiner, New American News Media, the International Business Times, the Huffington Post, The Dallas Morning Observer, CNN, World Star, NBC Washington, CBS DFW and the Socialist Worker Online. He’s also been re-interviewed by Steve Eager of Fox News and SAY CHEESE TV.

In both interviews, he wears a beanie. In the latter, he’s sitting in the park. He has not cut his hair.

The problem with Jeff Bliss is the problem with social media, and the problem with social media is a problem that’s becoming very much our own — our reliance for perspective regardless of reputability.

Hard facts are one thing. The weather is the weather is the weather. Events are events. Whether you’ve been told the Dow report by Rush Limbaugh or Anderson Cooper or Huckleberry Finn, you have information untainted by perspective or motive. But you’ve got a distinct other when, say, your go-to source for the particulars of our state’s public education framework is an 18-year-old former high school drop-out lacking the patience to sit through a social studies course.

The Pew Research Center took note. With over 15 months worth of findings in hand, they believe YouTube has created “a complex, symbiotic relationship between citizens and news organizations … a relationship that comes close to the journalistic ‘dialogue’ many observers predicted would become the new journalism online.”

You’d think that the furthering of journalistic interest would be good thing. It mostly is. The Research Center later qualifies “the rise of social media recommendations does not appear to be coming at the expense of people going directly to new sites or searching for the topics they’re interested in.”

They’ve found that user uploaded news transmissions weren’t diminishing appetites for more traditional news sources: if anything, they stimulated them.

But in our haste for front line, definitive reports, the risk of perpetuating inaccuracies looms ever further. Complacency becomes commonplace. Several weeks ago, CNN’s Jake Trapper accused ABC and the Weekly Standard of inaccurately reporting emails in an exchange regarding this year’s terrorist attacks in Benghazi. He did so with an email of his own.

Conversely, CNN flubbed their coverage of last month’s Boston Marathon bombings by erroneously “reporting Wednesday afternoon that an arrest had been made.” It hadn’t. The suspects weren’t even identified yet. And all at the leisure of “eye witness” reports, observations conveyed via Twitter, Facebook and the rest of the networking gamut.

And why would faulty national news coverage tie back to a public schooler’s rants? In what way does Jeff Bliss, despite what are surely spectacular intentions, exemplify the issue of immediacy in our generation’s information grabbing?

Because he’s the representation of the future. Or at least a representation. We’ve got time to change. Mistakes will be made. But if we continue to forsake accuracy for “first dibs’” sake, a social studies classroom will be the least intimidating locale we’ve got to look forward to.

opinion@thedailycougar.com

We love the feeling we get when we’re walking on campus and see a security guard or police officer.

We also appreciate the idea of security cameras, but to a point.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

Take for instance the Apr. 15 Boston Marathon bombing. Two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnev, left two bags packed with explosives that killed three and injured 264. A few days later, Tamerlan died in a shootout with police and Dzhokhar was captured.

The speed with which the capture happened was surprising, and it was in part because the city of Boston had cameras positioned throughout the streets.

The cameras captured the images that the FBI released on Thursday. The idea that the surveillance cameras captured their every action is heralded as a triumph of modern society, though the idea that “big brother” might always be watching is an unsettling thought.

Philosopher Thomas Hobbes famously described the ‘social contract’ that people have with their government in the “Leviathan.”

“People lose the right to any power over their government once they give authority to that government.”

In other words, to have the safety of law and order, the people pay with some of their personal freedoms. The line must be drawn at one point or another, and the argument to allow cameras on every street corner will only lead to the reduction of more personal freedoms.

It might be surprising to know that there are 490 security cameras on campus that record 24 hours, 365 days a year.

Malcolm Davis, assistant vice president for UH Public Safety and Security, said in a post on the UH Department of Safety website that the cameras were put in place to reduce crimes on campus.

“The safety of our campus community is the driving force of UHDPS,” Davis said. “Reducing the opportunity for individuals to commit crimes on campus is crucial to providing a safe learning and working environment. This is the primary reason we are implementing a plan to install additional video security cameras in selected area.”

The City of Houston boasts about 350 cameras downtown. After what happened in Boston, Houston officials are adamant that the surveillance system in Houston needs to expand.

In Apr. 18 Houston Chronicle article, City Councilman C.O. Bradford, a former HPD police chief, asserted the need to expand and improve Houston’s system.

“They may have some cameras, but they don’t have the technology they should have,” Bradford said. “We cannot staff adequately to protect our large arenas and venues where people congregate every day in this city, but technology is a force multiplier.”

While major cities have a surveillance system network, the U.S. lags behind some European and Asian countries. Hsiao-Ming Wang, professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston-Downtown, said in a Houston Chronicle article that people don’t like being watched, which is why there aren’t more cameras.

“A lot of people think the installation of cameras is privacy invasion,” Wang said.

English teaching assistant Lam Dickson is hard at work teaching his English 1304 class. Dickson and other TA’s get paid considerably less than tentured professors, yet student still have to pay full price for the course regardless of who is teaching it. | Nichole Taylor/The Daily Cougar

Then there was the recent mess with English teaching assistants, and while they feel cheated for the lack of pay and having to pay to teach to boot, imagine how the students feel. Imagine paying upwards of $1,000 for three credit hours of ENGL 1303 Freshman Composition I only to find out the class is being taught by a student — a graduate student but a student, nonetheless.

Students shouldn’t have to pay full prices for classes for taught by graduate students, teaching assistants, TA’s or whatever you want to call them. Since the school is not allowed to list TA’s as instructors in the course registration catalog, students aren’t aware that they are enrolling in a TA’s’ course until the first day of class.

This is not to devalue the hard work and effort these graduate students put into maintaining a curriculum, grading assignments and conducting a lecture. It is amazing that these TA’s manage to teach a course and prepare for their classes, alongside managing other aspects of their personal lives.

That aside, if the University is not paying TA’s professor-level salaries for graduate students to teach these classes, it is only fair that students shouldn’t have to pay full price to take the courses. The English TA’s were earning between $9,600 and $11,200 annually; for the sake of argument, we’ll split the difference and say $10,400 annually or $867 monthly. In the course of a five-month semester either in the spring (January to May) or fall (August to December), the TAs earn $4,333. If the average student pays, say, $1,000 per three-credit hour course, regardless of the class size, the class is paid for and then some. With all of those savings from not having to pay a professor to teach these courses, you have to wonder where the money is going.

Many students on campus are funding their own education by attending school and working, and many others have to pay off loans with interest after graduation. The financial burden of attending college is heavy enough that we shouldn’t have to foot the bill for another student’s learning experience. English senior Daniella Singer said students should pay for what they get, and if what they get is a TA, there should be a discount.

“Teaching assistants are not as qualified to teach, as say, a professor who holds a doctorate,” Singer said. “I think that it only makes sense to pay half price for a class taught by a teaching assistant.”

The only requirements for becoming a TA are an undergraduate degree or its equivalent in addition to passing an English language proficiency test and admittance into a graduate program, which the TA’s have had to pay fees toward, so we’re paying them to teach us, and they are having to pay to teach us.

Credits earned from classes taught by professors and TA’s have the same value in regards to the student’s grade point average and graduation. Students pay per course credit and pay the same for the same course and may even receive the same experience, but it’s the idea that one person is paying for a class taught by a student as another taught by a professor. It’s like going to a cosmetology school and paying a student the same price for a cut and style as you would for a master stylist. This mindset undermines the college experience and the value of professors.

Ciara Rouege is an advertising junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

This alert system is designed to reach students through email and cellphone. This system is also used to notify students of school closures and bad weather conditions.

While some students get notifications in real time, others may not get them until hours after. If there is a robbery or assault on campus, emails have been known to arrive up to three hours after the incident. When assaults and robberies occur, I would like to be notified immediately.

This is no reflection on the work of the UH Department of Public Saftey; however, when the University is faced with reports of a serious incident in progress — like a possible gunman — the UH Alert System has been seen to react more quickly than with other cases.

On March 5, students were alerted that there was a sighting of a possibly armed “Asian mail” around Philip G. Hoffman Hall. Students received text messages and emails advising them to stay indoors. Less than an hour later, students were notified that everything was “all clear.” The suspect was merely carrying a hand-held scanner; but it was comforting to receive a prompt text message to let me know it was safe.

The system is not the problem. It works, but high traffic crashes the alert system website. Immediate information is not impossible; it just seems to take a high priority incident to get this information quickly.

Many factors go into the relaying of this information, which may be why it takes longer than some would like. David Johnson, executive director of Technology Services and Support, said the system operates as a chain of events.

The process begins with an incident being reported to UHDPS. From there, the message is entered into the interface of an emergency notification system called Pier. The computer then decides whether this notification should be sent out over email, text or both. The alert is then sent to the server to be compiled and then the information is sent to a pre-generated list of email addresses and cell phone numbers. If the option to send it to a cell phone is chosen, the alert must then go through each student’s specific cell phone provider company before it is received by the student.

Factors such as students being out of range of a cell phone tower, having their phone off or having the wrong phone number in the UH system can increase in the amount of time it takes to receive a message.

“We would like our students to receive the message within five minutes,” Johnson said. “We know that that’s not always going to happen because there are a lot of factors that go into it. We usually try to say five to seven minutes.”

In a world dependent on technology and speed, Johnson and the UHDPS are constantly looking for ways to improve the system.

“You can’t just depend on one message system,” Johnson said. “We are looking to integrate into our digital cyber system. We just signed a campus-wide agreement for digital signage.”

Digital signage is information kiosks and slideshows that would be displayed on screens when students walk into a building. Pictures of students and information about upcoming events would be seen. When there is an incident occurring, the alert would override the system, and the message would be displayed directly on the screen.

Starting in the fall, students will receive emails, text messages and be able to see alerts on the screens in buildings. This system would notify students of bad weather conditions and dangers on campus.

This system sounds like a step forward. There is the concern of what level of alarm students would want to be notified. While some students may become annoyed with possible false alarms, others, like creative writing sophomore Nicolas Montoya, would rather be notified too often than not enough.

“Being notified not enough would mean that we are being ignorant to what is happening around us, and we would have a false sense of security,” Montoya said. “I would rather be on the cautious side.”

The steps that the UH Alert System is taking to ensure that students are aware of what is happening around them are a step in the right direction to get information out quicker. The longer it takes to receive an alert, the better the chance that someone else could be walking in to danger. Situations should be treated like a high profile case until proven otherwise.

Kelly Schafler is a print journalism sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

According to a Washington Post-ABC News national poll in March, 57 percent supported an automatic weapons ban and was turned down. Frustrating as it is, one could understand why it may fail when the full brunt of those lobbying rock stars, the National Rifle Association, floods Congress with dollars and loads up on advertisements to combat the change. A far more frustrating defeat, however, is the fall of a bill requiring extensive background checks.

The background check bill failed despite being supported by almost 90 percent of Americans in a recent poll. With majority support across the ideological spectrum, there is no reason not to pass tougher standards for background checks. When polled about their reaction to the Senate’s failure in the same poll, 60 percent were either disappointed or angry about the bill’s failure in contrast to the 23 percent who said that they were relieved or excited.

In a country where a majority of Americans want tougher gun laws, the Senate, namely Senate Republicans and a few “red state” Democrats, reject the will of the majority yet, less than a quarter polled are happy about this.

Patricia Maisch, a good Samaritan who knocked an ammunition magazine from the hands of the Jared Lee Loughner, was unhappy about the decision and had to be escorted off of the premises.

“They are an embarrassment to this country — that they don’t have any compassion or care for people who have been taken brutally from their families. I hate them,” Maisch said.

According to a Huffington Post YouGov poll released Friday, 90 percent of those indentifying themselves as Democrat, 64 percent as Independent and 60 percent as Republican favor a bill requiring background checks for all store and online gun purchases. Yet, the bill was all but dead on arrival when it hit the Senate floor for a vote — and for more than just constitutional beliefs.

Grace Wyler of businessinsider.com said the upcoming 2014 midterm elections were partially to blame, pointing out that three of the four Democrats who voted against the background check bill were up for re-election in pro-gun states that voted against President Barack Obama in 2012 and that the states that they represent — Alaska, Montana and Arkansas — have over half of their population owning at least one gun.

The members of the NRA are very passionate about protecting their gun rights, and their passion has a strong impact.

According to an April 14 Washington Post-ABC News poll, 18 percent of gun owners contact their representative to express their views on gun control, as compared to 10 percent of non-owners. Seventeen percent of gun owners give money to an organization lobbying on the issue compared to four percent of non-gun owners. On the other hand, 40 percent of gun activists said they wouldn’t vote for a politician who disagreed with their views on guns compared to over 75 percent of non-gun activists.

The notion that the will of the people could be compromised in such a fashion by lobbyists and senators is discouraging. However, there is a lesson to be learned from the passion of the NRA and its members that a lot of Americans haven’t figured out.

If you are passionate enough about a certain legislation, can afford to lobby and if you attack your opponents in the media, you too can hire the Senate and the House of Representatives to help your cause.

The NRA is organized and knows how to make things happen in legislation. If non-gun activists want stricter gun laws and their voices heard, it’s up to them to rally together against the NRA and make it difficult for legislators to say “no.”

“There needs to be a lobby to fight the NRA,” UH alumnus Marcos Rios said. “A big lobby, if they (want) something to happen.”

If gun control activists were as materially passionate as gun activists, the pressure on the Senate would be so great that it would have to come to some sort of compromise to get something passed — for better or worse.

Despite the majority being for the bill, there are still valid arguments against it.

Ed Krystaponis, an undeclared junior, said that while there is nothing wrong with background checks, the law wouldn’t have been air tight and there would still be ways to be beat the checks.

“The background checks aren’t a bad thing,” Krystaponis said.

“The only issue that I have with it is where is it going to stop. I’m not saying that your background or my background shouldn’t be checked, but if I wanted to hand the gun down to my heirs, should I not be able to do that?”

Krystaponis also said that, despite the law, if a criminal who shouldn’t have a gun wants one bad enough, a law isn’t going to stop them.

“Bad guys don’t care about the law. That’s why they are bad guys. It doesn’t matter if (they) are banned. It’s not gonna matter,” Krystaponis said.

Regardless, it seems that the will of the majority wasn’t carried out. For some, this is discouraging and exposes potential inadequacies in the legislative system. For others, it hopefully serves as a wake-up call; if people don’t take action, then Congress has no reason to change.

Jacob Patterson is a management information systems senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Many of us thought we left cafeteria lunches, detention and acne back in high school, but while we were able to successfully flee cafeterias and detention, those pesky pustules still haunt some of us.

According to mayoclinic.com, 74.6 percent of college students have acne.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

The most common causes of acne include the overproduction of oil, dead skin irritating hair follicles and accumulation of bacteria. The buildup of oil and dead skin within the hair follicles creates a perfect environment for bacteria to thrive.

Some myths about acne perpetuate, such as the notion that chocolate and greasy foods lead to acne. While it’s definitely better to not gorge on pepperoni pizza and Hershey bars, you can rest assured that indulging isn’t going to result in eruptions on your face the next day.

There is some scientific correlation between diet and acne. According to the Mayo Clinic, dairy products and carbohydrate-rich food can lead to the formation of acne.

Another myth in which many of us seek refuge is that acne is caused by stress. We cling to the hope that when life slows down and things are no longer hectic, our skin will calm down too. Unfortunately, that’s not entirely the case. Lisa Garner, a clinical professor of Dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center says that stress reduction won’t eliminate acne.

According to a 2003 Stanford University study, college students had an increase in acne during exam periods because most acne is triggered by hormone production — in particular, androgens — which lead to the enlargement of sebaceous glands and cause increased oil production. While stress can cause fluctuations in hormone production, exacerbating acne by causing the binding of stress hormones to the stress receptors on sebum-producing cells, it’s not the actual cause of the acne.

Once acne begins to flourish, it’s tempting to scrub at it like there’s no tomorrow, but that’s not helping matters at all. In fact, scrubbing at acne can irritate it further. Instead, using tried and tested products, in addition to gently cleansing your face, can help keep acne at bay. Over-the-counter products such as benzoyl peroxide, salicylic acid and retinoids have been proven to help reduce the occurrence of acne.  If over-the-counter products don’t cut it, a meeting with your dermatologist to discuss more stringent options, such as Accutane, may be in order.

If you have acne, do some research to find the cause and the best way to treat it. If you need help, head to the Dermatologist to explore other options.

Trisha Thacker is a biology junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Rapper Jay-Z, left, along with his superstar wife, Beyoncé Knowles, took a March 31 visit to Cuba for their fifth wedding anniversary. The former Brooklyn Nets part owner answered those criticizing the trip in song that does not acknowledge the human rights violations and squashed freedoms of an autocratic regime long led by Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his brother, Raúl. | Wikimedia Commons

These were not the images that hip-hop artist Beyoncé Knowles and her rapper husband, Jay-Z, saw on their bizarre March 31 trip to Cuba in celebration of their fifth anniversary.

At first glance, a celebrity visiting another country is no big deal, unless that celebrity is Jane Fonda or Dennis Rodman; however, the Carters’ trip to Cuba gave money to the oppressive Cuban regime that can now be used to further ensnare its people. Their images are now being used in Communist Cuban propaganda — propaganda that the Cuban people have no way of counteracting due to the lack of freedom of speech. Their careless and indifferent outlook to these issues shows a lack of either intelligence or sympathy in concern toward the Cuban plight.

Jay-Z defended his trip to Cuba in a new song called “Open Letter.”

Due to the 1960s embargo, US citizens are not allowed to travel to Cuba unless they have obtained a license for academic, journalistic, religious or cultural exchange purposes. In “Open Letter,” Jay-Z claims that he and his party received White House clearance for their trip to Cuba, but on April 17, President Barack Obama had a different story.

“I wasn’t familiar that they were taking the trip,” Obama said, “My understanding is I think they went through a group that organizes these educational trips down to Cuba.  You know, this is not something the White House was involved with, we’ve got better things to do.”

Regardless of who authorized the trip, it was offensive to many Cuban-Americans. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a Cuban-American, has been an outspoken opponent of the trip.

“Well, I won’t rap it, but I’ll say, I mean, first of all, I think Jay-Z needs to get informed,” he said. “I think if Jay-Z was truly interested in the true state of affairs in Cuba, he would have met people that are being oppressed, including a hip-hop artist in Cuba who is right now being oppressed and persecuted and is undergoing a hunger strike because of his political lyrics. And I think he missed an opportunity. But that’s Jay-Z’s issue.”

According to Human Rights Watch, Cuba is the only country in Latin America that stifles all forms of political dissent. In Cuba, political dissidents are subject to criminal charges and are held without due process. Between January and August 2011, the Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation documented 2,224 arbitrary detentions in which many prisoners were not even presented arrest orders to substantiate the arrest. Cuban citizens live in near isolation from the rest of the world because the Castro regime has control of all media outlets and restricts the use of outside information. Citizens must request from the government the right to travel off the island and requests are typically denied, particularly to outspoken advocates. The list of human rights violations could go on and on.

“The travel policies need to be tightened because they are being abused,” Rubio said. “These are tourist trips, and they are – what they’re doing is providing hard currency and funding so that a tyrannical regime can maintain its grip on the island of Cuba, and I think that’s wrong,” he said. “And quite frankly, I think it’s hypocritical of the people who took that trip because they didn’t go down there and meet with some of the people that are actually in trouble today.”

A true cultural exchange would have required seeing the oppression the Cuban government has placed upon its people.

“If they really wanted to know what was going on in Cuba, they should have met with some of the people that are suffering there, not simply smoke cigars and take a stroll down the street,” Rubio said.

The Carters’ trip was an exercise in ignorance. Next time Jay-Z decides to rap about expressing his freedom of speech and sticking it to the man, he should avoid it in the context of traveling to Cuba, the land of dictatorial power and restriction of unalienable rights. It just makes him look stupid.

Sarah Backer is a business sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

It is from this boredom that infidelity breeds, and one of the ways we often try to take our minds off of our boredom is music, and this day and age, infidelity in music is still as prominent today as it ever has been.

Infidelity has been portrayed in culture as far back as recorded history goes, and in these times, it remains a popular subject in pop culture. In movies and books, indiscretions are either visually portrayed or spelled out for the reader; therefore, they are easier to pick up on. In music, these messages, while often obvious, can sometimes pass so quickly that audiences don’t pick up on the references.

There are some songs that will only mention cheating as a passing thought, causing listeners to wonder why this piece of the lyric was even necessary. For example, take Jamie Foxx, a popular comedian and actor who has also dabbled in music. His song, “Blame It on the Alcohol,” is all about a guy going to club, hitting on someone else’s drunken lover and stealing her right out from under him.

Other songs are subtler with the infidelity, such as Enrique Iglesias’s song “I Like It.” Most of the song is filled with references to sex and dancing like the cheating reference at the beginning, “My girlfriend is out of town, and I’m all alone. Your boyfriend is on vacation, and he doesn’t have to know.”

While there are songs in which cheaters get punished, like Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” these are outweighed by a slew of songs that make it adventurous, almost acceptable to be unfaithful.

“Cheating is bad, but it is also shown as exciting,” history junior Cesar Martinez said. “It’s (portrayed) like, ‘Who cares if you don’t get caught?’”

Nutrition junior Laura Ngyuen said the cues are so casual that the consequences of cheating have become trivial in nature.

“The consequences (of cheating) don’t seem as bad in movies, music and stuff … it doesn’t seem as serious,” she said.

According to infidelityfacts.com, 57 percent of men and 54 percent of women have admitted to committing infidelity in their relationship, while 74 percent of men and 68 percent of women admitted that they would have an affair if they knew they would never get caught. This is reflected in the music we listen to.

Although, physically cheating is not the only form of cheating. Many consider the act of liking someone else, regardless of acting on it, a form of cheating. Biomedical engineer freshman Sara Siddiq said having romantic feelings for someone other than your significant other is like living a lie.

“When you’re mentally cheating, you’re lying throughout the whole relationship,” Siddiq said. “You’re making (your significant other) think that they’re the most important person to you, but they’re not because you like someone else.”

While no relationship is perfect, and there are bound to be a ton of mistakes made in each relationship, don’t make a mistake that can easily be prevented. Cheating is one of the most selfish things one can do in a relationship and certainly should not be glorified in pop culture — music included. We should be writing songs about resisting the urge to cheat and glorifying the ideal of being true to the one you love. There aren’t enough of those songs these days.

So when you’re at how this weekend with the one you love, think about why you fell in love in the first place. Tell them how special they are and have a little fun this weekend and keep that spark going, oh, and turn the stereo off or play up some slow jazz.

Kelly Schafler is a print journalism sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

Texas may be on the verge of the education reform it desperately needs. The Equal Opportunity Scholarship Program, or Texas Senate Bill 23, will award businesses up to 15 percent in in-state tax credits for funding scholarships and grants that benefit students living in low-income households or who are at-risk of dropping out.

Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who serves as the Education Committee chairman, is spearheading this school-choice legislation. Patrick believes his plan will encourage positive competition among schools and significantly lower dropout rates.

“In order to give the children of Texas a better education and a brighter future, we must focus on creating more choices for parents including charter, online learning and the ability for them to find the right school for their child,” Patrick said.

The program will give elementary and high school students living in districts with poorly performing public schools an opportunity to enroll into private academic institutions, including those with religious affiliations. Participating business will receive a tax break, which caps at $100 million, when contributing to a participating non-profit organization. The organization will then disperse the funds in the form of grants to families that qualify.

While it has not been mentioned whether the bill will provide financial aid for students in college, it will definitely benefit prospective students and current college students, like kinesiology senior Sable Horton, who have children.

“Luckily, I’m in a situation where Malachi and Kayla can attend really good public schools,” Horton said. “Had we not lived in Conroe ISD, but in a terrible school district like the one in Houston, the program would definitely make it a lot easier for me to provide them with a good education.”

Horton is a single mother of two elementary-school-aged children and commutes to the University from her home in the suburbs 30 miles north of the city.

Patrick has received strong support for this bill from Brownsville Democrat Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., who included the at-risk requirement to the program. However, the bill has received opposition, both from within the state House and from the Coalition of Public Education. The coalition released a statement in March in which it said there were concerns that the proposed bill will provide tax loopholes for corporations and take away critical funding for experimental voucher programs to support private education.

While these are legitimate concerns, we cannot pass up this opportunity to help put kids in a position to compete in the global economy, which will require a strong workforce bolted in a strong educational foundation. Advertising senior Judith Riojas said that by giving these kids that chance to compete, they have a chance to break the cycle of poverty that binds them to their environment.

“I think it’s adventitious because it can break the vicious cycle of poverty that these families find themselves trapped in. If these kids can get a better education, then they’ll have more opportunities to get a higher paying job,” Riojas said. “It’s not that these kids are incapable of succeeding in college, it’s because their parents are in a bad financial situation.”

Like many taxpayers, Riojas expressed strong support for the Equal Opportunity Scholarship Program and said she would prefer the program to be heavily regulated to prevent government and corporate institutions from taking advantage.

Public Education Committee Chairman Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock, R-Killeen, said there is a concern about a lack of accountability within the program. Aycock said the tax breaks being offered to businesses constitute a use of public funds, and as such, these funds need monitoring to protect the taxpayers.

The bill is currently pending a decision on the floor of the full state senate, which will most likely demand that the bill be rewritten with strict regulations to monitor the program.

The program won’t give the government direct control over the funds, but that doesn’t mean tax money, reflected in tax cuts, will be abused. The grants offered through the program will be funded directly by money collected from the private sector.

Historically, Americans have had a fear of corporate and government manipulation, but including a third party — the non-profit organization — will guide the allocation of these funds to the students that need them.

The non-profit organization participating in the program will have a better understanding of the people living in that particular community. Unlike current federal and state financial aid programs, like the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, it will offer applicants a personal application process similar to that offered by private scholarships.

The ramifications of this bill extend beyond the feel-good emotion accompanied with helping a charity case child. It could be our first substantial action toward reversing generational poverty and closing the massive gap between the socioeconomic classes.

Ciara Rouege is an advertising junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado / The Daily Cougar

On April 2, the Associated Press dropped the dreaded ‘i word’ or, to be more specific, the term ‘illegal immigrant’ from its stylebook, arguably the most widely used guide by journalists. However, instead of receiving full-on praise the organization deserves for removing a stigmatizing label, they received some mixed reviews.

The news of the change broke post by AP blogger Paul Colford and explained by Kathleen Carroll, AP senior vice president and executive editor, that “illegal” labeled people and that labels are making their way out of the stylebook.

“(W)e had in other areas been ridding the Stylebook of labels,” Carroll said.

“The new section on mental health issues argues for using credibly sourced diagnoses instead of labels. Saying someone was ‘diagnosed with schizophrenia’ instead of schizophrenic, for example. That discussion about labeling people, instead of behavior, led us back to ‘illegal immigrant’ again. We concluded that to be consistent, we needed to change our guidance.”

According to the new entry, “illegal” will only be used to refer to an action and not a person — “illegal immigration” is OK, “living in” or “entering a country illegally” or “without legal permission” are accepted variations, but “illegal immigrant” is right out. Also, people can’t be described as violating immigration laws without attribution. It’s not exactly tight writing, but the heart is in the right place.

Political science senior Jocelyn Bermudez agrees with AP’s decision as a positive step toward immigration reform.

“I do agree with them changing the terminology because at least it’s showing that it’s such an important issue that it’s trying to be reformed,” Bermudez said.

However, there is some backlash to be found. Fox News personality Greta Van Susteren questioned the move in her blog.

“The law is specific — whether you like the or not — about being in this country legally or illegally,” Susteren said.

“If you do not meet the terms of being here legally, you are here illegally, right? But apparently the AP has other ideas. Perhaps the AP would prefer describing someone as an immigrant (not illegal immigrant) who is illegally here or violating the law as a criminal? I think criminal sounds much worse.”

Others, like English senior Molly Hicks, find the move ridiculous exercise in political correctness.

“Making more words ‘politically incorrect’ is a very dumb thing to do, and it just makes people get offended over absolutely nothing. I think it’s stupid,” Hicks said.

Van Susteren does have a valid point: just because there is a terminology change doesn’t mean that the action is changed, and it seems like the AP is splitting hairs over the label.

French and interior architecture junior Babirye Nteza said the change in terminology does not change the issue at hand.

“I don’t agree with it only because I don’t think it’s going to make a difference, like what the actual policies are going to be like,” Nteza said.

“I feel like it is like changing the cover in order not to deal with the real issue.”

People like Van Susteren underestimate the full power of language. There are a few examples that we’ve seen in our recent history that either helped movements or aided the arguments they made.

Recently, an evolution has occurred regarding the marriage equality debate. Only a few years ago, the movement to allow the marriage of two people of the same sex was referred to as the “gay marriage movement.” Later, the reference changed then same-sex marriage as the term “gay” refers primarily to men and was rechristened as the “same-sex marriage movement.”

Still, that term seemed isolated, so it was recently rechristened the “marriage equality movement,” bringing “traditional marriage” under the umbrella that all marriages between two people are equal.

These small changes in our vernacular have deep impacts on society. The changes might seem minute and unimportant, but the reason they are is because they work. The words used affect how the issue is understood.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

While many of you may be thinking the flu is no big deal, it’s just a glorified cold, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says otherwise. According to the HHS, students should stay home for seven days, or until they don’t have symptoms for 24 hours, after first showing signs of the flu.

While missing a minimum of seven days of classes to catch up on “The Office” and guzzle down chicken noodle soup is tempting, the class work is going to pile on, and can be so hard to come back from. Prevention is the best cure.

In addition to staying home from school, HHS has some more guidelines for college students. The department recommends that students living in dormitories take a taxi or a car, avoiding public transportation to go home. If you can’t do that, it recommends that you have only one person bring you whatever you need, whether it is food, notes or medication. If all else fails, wear a surgical mask, which is definitely not the most flattering accessory.

Some of these guidelines may sound over the top, but while the flu may not have a huge impact on you, you could infect someone who may end up in the hospital as a result. In particular, people with asthma, diabetes and heart disease are already immunocompromised and at risk of contracting a severe form of the flu. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the number of flu-associated deaths per year, in the past 30 years, has ranged from 3,000 to 49,000 deaths. If you don’t want to go through all the hassle, then get the flu vaccine shot. You owe it to yourself and everyone you come in contact with to do so.

Since 2010, the CDC has recommended that all individuals six months and older get the vaccine. The flu vaccine is carefully crafted each year to include the strands of influenza most likely to infect people in the upcoming season. This year, the flu A (H3N2) strand was anticipated to cause the majority of flu cases. A lot of time, effort and money is put into keeping the flu from causing major health problems within the population, so head over to the UH Health Center to get your $25 flu vaccine today.

If you can’t get the flu vaccine, take some simple physical precautions. According to the New York University Langone Medical Center, the water droplets projected when people sneeze, cough or even talk can travel as far as ten feet, so try to move out of the line of fire of the guy sneezing his head off two rows behind you. In general, employ common sense. Wash your hands and don’t share food and drinks with others. By being vigilant in protecting yourself against the flu, not only are you helping yourself, you’re helping those around you.

Trisha Thacker is a biology junior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Biology sophomore Ammaar Azeem is hard at work studying in the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library. Pro tip: when studying, try to stay organized, keeping papers and handouts in order for easy access. /Mahnoor Samana/The Daily Cougar

I can practically hear your exasperated groans, wishing that first week of May was done with already. Well I’ve been in college a while, and I have a few tips and tricks you can use to stay focussed through the end of finals.

First, study in segments — do not study in long blocks of time. This is especially true if you prefer to cram, like I do. Cramming does not work for everyone, and the long, eight- to 12-hour cram sessions can be intense if you are not used to it. Pace yourselves. It is very difficult to study for long periods of time without losing focus, and even during my long cram sessions, I schedule a 30-minute break every few hours, just so I can make it through the night.

Divide the time during the last week before finals into blocks for each class, with a longer block the night before your exam so you can get one or two glances of everything, just to refresh your memory. If you are taking a heavy class load, it may be more beneficial to match your studying schedule with your exam schedule — study for your last exams first, then your first exams later so the information is fresh, and then after those first exams, go back and study harder.

Also, get organized — before you start to study, come up with a plan of attack. Every class is different, and the emphasis on what and how you should study can differ between them. Plan ahead to save yourself some time and hone your focus.

Finally, it is best to eat light and keep hydrated. It is a good idea to eat before you study; having some food in your belly can help relax you, but overeating will to make you drowsy. Just eat a sandwich and a small bag of chips. Grab a big bottle of water before you get started. Avoid the temptation to grab energy drinks. They just dehydrate you and tempt you to stop what you’re doing to get another drink. Just sip some water to give your brain a breather and keep hydrated.

If you like these tips and want more tips and tricks on studying or on anything else, send me an email at the address below. I would be happy to take my best stab at anything you can throw at me. In the meantime, good luck on the rest of the year and finals.

Aaron Manuel is a print journalism senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Margaret Thatcher insecting Bermudian troops in 1990 during the waning days of her premiership. The “Iron Lady,” U.K. Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990, broke ground as the first woman British prime minister, privatized much of the British economy and helped end the Cold War. | Wikimedia Commons

A week ago, former United Kingdom Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died at the age of 87, and in her wake, discussions of her legacy still continue from her conservative politics to the snubbing of the Argentine president from her funeral 30 years after the end of the Falklands War. Thatcher was a tough woman who backed down from no one and was a woman of action in the face of a patriarchal political society in Britain.

“In politics, if you want anything said, ask a man. If you want anything done, ask a woman,” Thatcher said.

Amen, sister. 

Thatcher has left a considerable legacy and paved the way for the female politicians of the 21st century, and this “Iron Lady” was no wallflower; she was revered and repulsed by millions. However, it was her enemies that made her relevant; she stood for her beliefs in the face of extreme adversity, and that took extraordinary courage.

She was the former leader of Britain’s Conservative Party and was elected the first female prime minister in 1979, serving three consecutive terms until her resignation from party leadership in November 1990. She was a staunch conservative who supported the reduction of welfare programs, the diminishment of trade union power and privatization. Even during her deepening unpopularity, Thatcher never wavered in her beliefs, as she said in a May 1989 interview for Press Association that compromising your beliefs accomplishes nothing.

“You know, if you just set out to be liked, you would be prepared to compromise on anything, wouldn’t you, at any time? And you would achieve nothing!”

Proof of Thatcher’s significance comes from the continuation of her policies in England long after she left office. David Frum of The Daily Beast said despite the that former Prime Minister Tony Blair was of the Labour Party, which the Conservative Party removed from power decades earlier, he still maintained many of Thatcher’s policies.

“(T)he great politicians leave a legacy that is accepted even by their opponents. Blair accepted Thatcher’s changes to Britain’s labor laws. He accepted the end of price controls. He accepted the privatization of industry. He accepted that government spending could not rise indefinitely. He accepted the role of the entrepreneur in the modern economy,” Frum said.

Aside from shattering the glass ceiling of political power, Thatcher’s social beliefs destroyed the stereotypical outlook toward conservative policies. Thatcher was one of the few conservatives to vote for the decriminalization of homosexuality in 1960.

“She was a pioneer for previously excluded minorities — and for women, no minority at all,” Frum said.

In the U.S., remembrances of the Iron Lady’s courage and firmness may be the push this country needs in forming a future in which the idea of a female president is viable. Painting sophomore Audrye Williams said Thatcher’s success is proof that women can be leaders.

“I would vote for a female president if she shared my beliefs, not just because she is a woman like me,” Williams said. “If she could do it, there’s no reason it couldn’t be done here.”

Contrarily, despite the abundance of women in American politics, women are often dismissed as too weak or fragile to be the leader of the free world. Even Hillary Clinton’s close run against President Barack Obama in the 2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries was often suggested as being due in large part to the popularity of her husband and the idea of getting a two-for-one deal in electing her. MSNBC left-wing news personality Chris Matthews demeaned her success as a politician by claiming her appeal comes from the public’s pity toward her.

“I think the Hillary appeal has always been somewhat about her mix of toughness and sympathy for her,” Matthews said. “Let’s not forget, and I’ll be brutal, the reason she’s a U.S. senator, the reason she’s a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front runner, is that her husband messed around. That’s how she got to be a senator from New York. We keep forgetting it. She didn’t win it on her merit; she won because everybody felt, ‘My God, this woman stood up under humiliation, right? That’s what happened! That’s how it happened.’”

A female president will only be possible when public perception of women ceases to be that of instability and feebleness. Victory must wait until we are no longer considered the inferior sex, something Thatcher helped to change, but not completely abolished.

It is impossible to tell whether we will ever have a female leader like Thatcher; however, if she could do it in England, there is hope that a strong woman in her likeness can one day do it in America.

Sarah Backer is a business sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

David Delgado/The Daily Cougar

For that to happen, the proposal must survive two-thirds votes in both the House and Senate. Frankly, state lawmakers should just let the chips fall where they may and let the people vote, and there is considerable pro-gambling support.

A recent Bizjournals.com poll found that 83 percent of Texans would support casino gambling if it would help close the budget gap. An Oct. 9, 2010 WFAA.com poll found 54 percent of Texans support casinos in Texas and 58 percent favor slot machines and video lottery terminals at racetracks. A 2011 survey by Baselice and Associates found that 59 percent of Republican voters, whose representatives are staunch opponents of gambling in general, support allowing the construction of 12 gaming resorts, installation of casino gaming at existing racetracks and on three Indian reservations, while 83 percent believe the people should vote on the measure either way.

If the ideological opposition is warm to the possibilities of casino gambling and more than four in five Republican voters want to see the measure brought to a vote, our representatives have no business blocking something the people want and they recognize the benefits.

Julio Rodriguez of cardplayer.com said states that collect revenue from casino and lottery taxes can bring in up to billions of dollars in revenue. New York collects $3.64 billion in total casino and lottery revenues, and Pennsylvania brings in $1.46 billion in casino revenues alone.

The state would tax gambling revenue at 15 to 20 percent and would mostly use the revenue to reduce property taxes. The city and the county would get the other 15 percent.

Child psychology junior Nicole Napier said introducing casino gambling to Texas would be a big boost to tourism and the economy.

“I think that it could be a great economic boost and tourist attraction,” Napier said. “People are going to gamble regardless. Why not have them come here?”

Tourism is a big part of the state and local economies. According to TripAdvisor.com, three Texas cities — San Antonio, Houston and Austin — were named in its Travelers’ Choice Top 25 Destinations in the United States; however, none are in the top 10, and about half of those cities have casino gambling in or near their vicinity. The ability to visit gambling halls in the cities would improve the tourism profile of our city and increase tourist revenues through the existing hotel taxes along with new local taxes on gambling and slot machines. If Texans don’t gamble here, they will go elsewhere, and if they don’t go elsewhere, they will do it here illegally.

According to the Texas District and County Attorneys Association, illegal gambling establishments are rampant in Harris County. From 2003 to 2007, Harris County made 219 gambling arrests and confiscated 2,771 illegal gambling machines.

The games are hard to shut down because of the word-of-mouth advertising and security measures owners take. Spinoff criminal activity often occurs because the people who handle the large amounts of cash are easier targets for criminals, mostly being elderly or women. These illegal establishments are bad for Texas and add an undesirable criminal element but are growing and may continue to grow if Texas residents don’t have any options.

Yes, there is an added crime element with legal casino gambling, but that is something the law can police and control. If video slot and poker machines are allowed to operate out in the open, the gambling black market would eventually dissipate.

No one is saying that only positives could come out of casino gambling, but most Texas voters want it and politicians on both sides of the aisle support it, so there is no reason why our politicians shouldn’t roll the dice and go to a popular vote. If it becomes law, it could be a jackpot for Texas in more ways than one.

Jacob Patterson is a management information systems senior and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

Clothing stores, like this one in Belfast, Northern Ireland, feature T-shirts with the image of Marxist freedom fighter Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Hollywood and counterculture young adults romanticize the life of a man who executed thousands and said, “the victory of Socialism is worth millions of atomic deaths.” | Wikimedia Commons

Chances are it’s not too much.

Among our generation, there exists a “cult of Che” completely ignorant in their adoration and glorification. Psychology freshman major Kiana Wall said he’s a symbol with a false or misunderstood value.

“As a symbol, Guevara had meaning in the past,” Wall said, “but it seems like those who wear those shirts now are just trying to exaggerate their political radicalism without knowing much about him at all.”

The problem is that many people, particularly the Millennials, are highly influenced by Hollywood more than ever. Steven Soderbergh directed the 2008 movie “Che” in which Benicio del Toro depicted Guevara as a gentle, contemplative hero. The New York Times writer Manohla Darges gives a good description of Soderbergh’s intended portrayal.

“Throughout the movie Mr. Soderbergh mixes the wild beauty of his landscapes with images of Che heroically engaged in battle, thoughtfully scribbling and reading and tending to ailing peasants and soldiers,” Darges said.

Furthermore, Del Toro said Guevara only executed people after they were tried.

“They did not do it blindly; they had trials,” he said. “They found them guilty, and they executed them — that’s capital punishment.”

A brief look at history shows a darker, more accurate side of Guevara.

In 1928, Guevara was born to a middle class family in Rosario, Argentina. He completed his medical studies in 1953, and after traveling around Latin America, decided that the only way to liberate the poor from their degraded existence was through violent warfare. An expert on guerrilla warfare, he was an important figure in the Cuban Revolution and tried to lead Marxist revolts in the Congo and Bolivia, where he was executed in 1967.

Since his death, Guevara has been touted by some on the left as the pop culture hero of anti-imperialism and rebellion. It was in the 1960s when Guevara truly rose to prominence as a symbol of revolution.

Guevara supporters claim he stands for freedom, justice and free-thinking; however, Guevara acted in the Cuban Revolution’s first firing squads and founded Cuba’s “labor camp” system which acted much like concentration camps.

Ironically, Guevara opposed freedom of speech, he campaigned to have homosexuals jailed in labor camps, he opposed free elections, he was a profligate adulterer and he hoped the Cuban missile crisis would lead to atomic war. Guevara’s political beliefs of mass-slaughter and absolute government fly in the face of freedom, social justice or free thought. For instance, take this quote from this 1966 speech by Guevara:

“Hatred is the central element of our struggle! Hatred that is intransigent … hatred so violent that it propels a human being beyond his natural limitations, making him violent and cold-blooded killing machine … We reject any peaceful approach. Violence is inevitable. To establish Socialism rivers of blood must flow! The imperialist enemy must feel like a hunted animal wherever he moves. Thus we’ll destroy him! These hyenas are fit only for extermination. We must keep our hatred alive and fan it to paroxysm! The victory of Socialism is well worth millions of atomic victims!”

Actions speak louder than words. As a Communist totalitarian murderer, Guevara participated in execution of thousands people, not all of which were former members of former Cuban President Fulgencio Batista’s administration.

What we need is for people to break from the confines of popular culture and think for themselves. Just because some actor likes Guevara and I like that actor doesn’t mean I should then like Guevara. The truth is wearing a Guevara shirt is much like sporting a shirt with Hitler’s or Stalin’s face on it. The only difference is that the Guevara shirt is socially acceptable, thanks to the obtuseness of Hollywood.

Sarah Backer is a business sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.